Latest Posts

@jayagracecostumes in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

The Selina Blouse: the tester makes Part II: historical

Get ready for even more Selina Blouse tester makes gorgeousness!

Here’s Part 2 of the tester makes. Today’s makes are all the historical makes. By random coincidence they are also almost all in classic white. So it’s a round up post showing how different the Selina can look in a dozen different white fabrics (and a couple of florals and spots)!

In Part 1 I showed all the testers who styled their Selina for modern or historybounding wear.

Now for the historical fabulosity!

Jaya of @jayagracecostumes

Jaya’s photos have the most wonderful, dreamy, Anne of Green Gables feel.

Her Selina is a great example of how well the blouse works in a lighter fabric with more drape – and how well it works tucked in.

Jaya made View A in Size 36, graded down to a Size 34 in the peplum. Check out her instagram to see all her other beautiful makes.

Sally

Sally made View B for her classic white Selina. Her take on it is equally beautiful. How perfect is that fit!?

It’s a side note to the blouse itself, but I love her braid coils: it’s a 1910s hairstyle that not many people do, but occasionally you see it in fashion magazines or photos, and I love seeing it in person.

Myrthe made View A in Size 44, with a Size 40 back. This is an easy way to accomodate a narrower back and fuller bust.

Michaela of @parallelsofthepast

Michaela really loved the possibilities for embellishment that View B allows. It’s really such a blank slate: you could do anything with it. What did she do? Ruffles!

Her inspiration? The beautiful blouse in the lower right corner of this 1915 mail order catalogue she owns (shared with her permission):

Like the Selina it has raglan sleeves and a V neck. Take the Selina and add a cascade of ruffles down the front, and there you have it! And isn’t it gorgeous!

I love that she took the pattern and showed what you could do with it based on period information. Brilliant and beautiful!

Michaela made a Size 38, with a Size 32 peplum

@Robescherie

Robescherie already appeared in yesterdays post, but she’s here again because she made three versions. I can’t decide if yesterday’s black blouse or this white one is my favourite:

That floral voile! So fabulous!

She also made a coloured version. Doesn’t it work perfectly with the yellows of spring?

Beautiful!

Robescherie made View A in Size 40, with adjustments to the peplum following the alterations and fitting guide given in the pattern.

Mie

I’ve had Mie test a couple of Scroop Patterns, because she always provides incredibly thoughtful feedback, and makes beautiful garments. Her Selina Blouse is no exception!

She chose a sweet floral print for her blouse. Aren’t her photos gorgeous? Like film stills.

Mie made View A with no collar in a straight Size 34.

Costume Kullan

Costume Kullan made the loveliest Selina in an adorable polka dotted cotton. She used it because it was the only suitable thing at her local fabric store, but I think it’s perfect! (Obviously I’m a fan of polka dots for this blouse: just look at the version I put on the pattern cover!)

Plus, she already has a gorgeous skirt and hat to match! And she’s already written a great post about being a pattern tester, and her blouse.

She made View A, and a straight Size 46.

Hope of @historical_hopes

Like Michaela of @parallelsofthepast, Hope really played with the possibilities of View B. She added lace, and paired it with a matching skirt to create a ‘lingerie frock’.

Isn’t it just divine?

All those lace insets and floaty panels! So beautiful!

Hope made a Size 40, with alterations to the peplum using the Fitting and Alterations Guide.

Cela of @totchipanda

Instead of classic white, Cela made their blouse in classic blue – and then paired it with a green skirt (the Wearing History 1910s suit skirt) in emerald green.

It’s brilliant 1910s colour madness at its best and I love it.

Cela made View A in size 40.

But wait, there’s more! You absolutely must check out Cela’s instagram, and keep an eye on their blog: they already turned the Selina Blouse into a dress, and will be blogging how they did it!

Elizabeth of @littleantiqueme

And to finish off, another beautifully classic white version of the Selina.

Perfectly 1915, and absolutely timeless.

Such crisp details in her cuff! And wonderful period hair and accessories.

She made a Size 30.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to these testers, and to the ones I showed yesterday. You are wonderful and so helpful.

GaÃ«lle of @supergaelle in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

The Selina Blouse: the tester makes Part I: modern & historybounding!

Published by The Dreamstress

What time is it? Tester makes time!

It’s the best part of pattern releases: where you get to see how a bunch of fabulous sewers interpreted the pattern.

Testers help make a pattern perfect, by pointing out any bits in the instructions that are a bit confusing, and by helping me refine the fit so it works as well as possible on as many bodies as possible.

I mentioned that there were a lot of exciting Selina Blouse tester makes, and I am not kidding! In fact, there’s so many makes that I’m going to be doing two tester posts.

Here’s the first one: all the testers who styled their Selina Blouses with modern clothes or as historybounding.

Here are the tester makes!

GaÃ«lle of @supergaelle

I’m in love with the fun floral print that GaÃ«lle used on her Selina Blouse, and the way she highlighted the collar and placket detailing with trim.

Her photos are a great example of how fabulous the blouse looks with trousers. Am I going to copy this look in my wardrobe? Absolutely!

GaÃ«lle made View A in Size 42, graded down to Size 40 in the hips. She’s petite, so she shortened both the bodice and sleeves 2cm. Check out her IG for more cute photos.

Myrthe of @atelier.nostalgia and Atelier Nostalgia

Myrthe’s take on styling the Selina is totally different to GaÃ«lle’s, but I’m equally enamoured of it.

Super crisp shirting Selina and super full circle skirt? Yes please!

You could wear this into the office any day!

Myrthe made View A in Size 34, and lengthened the sleeves 1” as she’s tall.

Megan of @boldly_sews

There are a lot of 1910s blouses that have different coloured front panels. Megan gave her version of the Selina a more modern twist on that look, with a mauve central panel that matches the mauve stripes of the rest.

Megan’s blouse really shows how fun stripes are with the peplum.

Megan made View A in Size 50. She lengthen the sides and back of the bodice 1”, and the front an additional two inches using the 1910s style FBA alternative suggested in the Fitting and Adjustments manual.

@Robescherie

Robescherie is going to appear in both Selina tester round-up posts, because she liked the pattern so much she made three versions!

Here’s her black version of the Selina shown with a sexy pencil skirt…

And with a black skirt as Edwardian mourning wear.

Perfect both ways!

Robescherie made View A in Size 40, with adjustments to the peplum following the alterations and fitting guide given in the pattern.

Astrid of @astridpiepschyk

I wasn’t sure how the Selina would look in stripes, but Astrid’s version has me convinced. The Selina is gorgeous in stripes!

Not only is her stripe matching perfection, Astrid took a lot of care to get the Selina to fit exactly to her liking, and it shows!

She made View B in Size 40 front, 38 back, and 40 peplum. She lengthened the arms by 10cm, and the overall bodice by 5cm, and added an extra 2cm to the front bodice length in a period-accurate FBA. All the adjustments are covered in the Fitting and Adjustments document that comes with the Selina.

And last, but definitely, definitely not least…

Nina of @ninavirgo

Nina was both a tester and a model! She made her Selina, and the Eastbourne trousers she’s wearing it with.

I love how the Selina is almost historical with the Eastbournes, but also totally modern.

To give her Selina a modern fit, Nina lengthened it by 1”, and graded out from a Size 46 in the bust to a Size 50 in the peplum, to give the peplum a relaxed fit.

Thank you to all the awesome testers! I am incredibly grateful for your input!

And check back in for the next tester post, where I show off all the historical versions of the Selina Blouse...

The Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse ScroopPatterns.com

Meet the Selina Blouse!

Published by The Dreamstress

I’m extremely excited to introduce the latest Scroop Pattern: the Selina Blouse.

This gorgeous mid-1910s blouse is the perfect addition to your historical costuming wardrobe, but works equally well for historybounding and modern wear.

Buy the Selina Blouse pattern here! — and get 10% off for the first week!

To celebrate the launch, the Selina Blouse pattern is 10% off from now until midnight on Friday 23 April, New Zealand time.

I absolutely love 1910s fashions. It was such an inventive era in fashion, but the clothes are also very practical and wearable. The Selina Blouse pattern is taken from an extant garment in my collection and combines all the best bits of fun and wearability.

View A is a direct replica of the original blouse and has a waistcoat-effect front and a collar.

View B is based on fashion plates and patterns showing similar simple raglan sleeve blouses. It has a plain front and no collar. It’s the perfect palette for trim and embellishment, and for pairing with a novelty collar.

Wear it out over a skirt to show off the peplum, or tuck it in. Pair it with a matching skirt for a ‘dress in two parts’ effect for historical costuming. Style it with trousers for modern workwear.

The pattern comes in bust sizes 30â€³-52â€³ (76-132cm). To help you get the perfect fit there’s a 8-page fitting and pattern alteration guide.

Why Selina?

The Selina Blouse is named for Maria Selina Hale. Selina was a tailoress, union organiser, and public servant in late 19th and early 20th century New Zealand. She spent her life campaigning for better conditions for working women, in factories, in shops, in domestic settings, and at home. She’s particularly known for helping abolish the practice of paying less-skilled needlewomen for ‘piecework’, and securing them better paid wages. Although she rose to hold important positions as a trade unionist and then civil servant, Selina was always extremely proud of her training as a tailoress, and of her skills as a needlewoman.

While, like most historical figures, Selina is not a perfect person by modern standards, she’s an interesting figure who undoubtedly improved conditions for many working women in her time. Her story is part of the history of womens rights, and workers rights, in New Zealand. She seems a fitting inspiration for a blouse that goes from pretty to practical, and which will be made by many working women today.

I can’t wait to see your versions of the Selina Blous!

Check back tomorrow to see some of the gorgeous tester makes. They had so much fun with this pattern. One tester made three versions! Another turned it into a dress, and other testers figuring out fun ways to embellish it.

I’ll also be sharing some of the inspirations behind the blouse over the next few blog posts.